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I too have a wife and two children and often feel the same as parent. The choice to get married (at 18) and have kids (first one at 20) was actually quite delib

I too have a wife and two children and often feel the same as parent. The choice to get married (at 18) and have kids (first one at 20) was actually quite deliberate. We talked about whether we wanted to live it up now and do all the serious stuff like having kids later in life ... or get the kids out of the way then while we have energy and save our "golden years" for traveling the world, or generally doing whatever we want. So I'll be 40 when my youngest turns 18 ... just in time for my mid-life crisis :P But in all seriousness, 11 years in (I'm 31, and my daughter is 11) and I'm still happy with our decision. I'll let you know in 9 years how that turns out ;)

kamaal 14y ago
Actually the early you start in these cases the better. Having kids is like making an investment, starting early helps.
throwit1979 14y ago
I guess what I'm getting at it is not really "why did you choose to have kids at time X in your life" as much as it is "why did you choose to have kids at all?"
- CodeCube 14y ago
  I suspect that answer will be different for everyone. Some will have had them as an accident, some will have had them to "save the marriage", some will have had them to bring companionship into their lives, some will have them out of religious duty, some will have them for the tax breaks. Conversely, some will choose not to have them for various reasons (psychological, physical, etc.). All are equally valid on both sides of the equation. For me, it was never a matter of if, but when ... as a human, reproducing is what we do. So when things lined up, I decided to pull the trigger (so to speak).
- bmelton 14y ago
  To posit a different answer, some of us had kids well before we were bitten by the entrepreneurial bug. At 35, I don't consider myself even remotely too old to still be doing things, and my daughter will turn 11 next month. That means that she was born about 11 years ago, and frankly, I had no clear idea of a career path above and beyond just working my way up the company ladder. It wasn't that it hadn't been done obviously, but the internet wasn't as prevalent 11 years ago, and there weren't near the resources then as there are now.

kamaal 14y ago

Actually the early you start in these cases the better. Having kids is like making an investment, starting early helps.

throwit1979 14y ago

I guess what I'm getting at it is not really "why did you choose to have kids at time X in your life" as much as it is "why did you choose to have kids at all?"

CodeCube 14y ago
I suspect that answer will be different for everyone. Some will have had them as an accident, some will have had them to "save the marriage", some will have had them to bring companionship into their lives, some will have them out of religious duty, some will have them for the tax breaks. Conversely, some will choose not to have them for various reasons (psychological, physical, etc.). All are equally valid on both sides of the equation. For me, it was never a matter of if, but when ... as a human, reproducing is what we do. So when things lined up, I decided to pull the trigger (so to speak).
bmelton 14y ago
To posit a different answer, some of us had kids well before we were bitten by the entrepreneurial bug. At 35, I don't consider myself even remotely too old to still be doing things, and my daughter will turn 11 next month. That means that she was born about 11 years ago, and frankly, I had no clear idea of a career path above and beyond just working my way up the company ladder. It wasn't that it hadn't been done obviously, but the internet wasn't as prevalent 11 years ago, and there weren't near the resources then as there are now.